


By The Moonlight Side Outtake

by endlessnightlock (Endlessnightlock)



Series: By The Moonlight Side [2]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Adult Content, F/M, Graphic Sex, Just plain old human sex though, Oral Sex, Peeta’s pov, Porn With Plot, Sorry if you were hoping for that, Swearing, cross-species isn’t my thing, its really just pwp, sorry folks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:41:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,983
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24654748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Endlessnightlock/pseuds/endlessnightlock
Summary: Thank you jrosely for betaing this for me!This is a very smutty, graphic one-shot from the universe of By The Moonlight Side, and it features an aged-up version of our favorite couple.I’m still working on the final chapter of the original story by the way, it’s just that for some reason this dug it’s way inside my head and refused to go away until I wrote it.
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Series: By The Moonlight Side [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1782547
Comments: 28
Kudos: 99





	By The Moonlight Side Outtake

Two and a half years later. 

Christmas break- freshman year of college.

  
  


"Mmm," Katniss couldn't help the deep, pleased sigh that escaped from her mouth as Peeta's hand crept across her body. He hid a smirk against her shoulder as his fingertips trailed a path over the soft skin of her stomach. Peeta loved getting her worked up like this- she was so responsive that it turned him on endlessly. 

Not that it ought to take much to get either of them in the mood tonight- it's been too long since he'd seen her, way too long since he'd held her. 

This long-distance relationship was for the birds.

They'd both started college in the fall, and Peeta had chosen a private school that was only a twenty-minute drive from Panem, rationalizing that he'd always wanted to take over the bakery at some point anyway. He'd decided to live at home after (what he now could admit was) some strong-arming from his mom and dad. It hadn't necessarily been his best decision- he was nineteen, should he have given up the opportunity to get out of the house for his college experience? Well, he'd decided in regards to that at least- now he just had to tell Katniss.

Katniss herself had opted for Panem State, which was about a hundred and fifty miles away from their home town. 

Despite the now-long distance relationship, the two of them were still going strong. 

Not that it wasn't hard sometimes, because it was, but they visited each other as often as they could. Unfortunately, Peeta hadn't been able to get away from the bakery for the last month because that dumbass Rye had fallen out of a tree and broken his arm, and the accident had left him unable to work at one of the busiest times of the year. Katniss, meanwhile, had been working every weekend for the last month to have time off for Christmas break. No matter how hard they'd tried, it just never seemed to have worked out for the two of them to meet up since Thanksgiving break. 

It'd been difficult being away from her that long. But that was all over for the semester- Katniss was home for a nice long break over the holiday. Rye's dumbass was finally back to work, and just in time because Peeta wasn't going to spend his whole Christmas break at the bakery. 

"What are you doing?" Katniss asked, though not harshly- no, she certainly didn't sound as though she minded having Peeta's hands all over her, it was more like she was trying to get him to refocus. 

He should have kept his mouth shut earlier. Or his fingers more precisely.

"Touching you," he said, scooting closer and deftly avoiding the real question. "I've missed you," he kissed Katniss gently to demonstrate. "Haven't you missed me?"

"Of course," Katniss said, "but I thought you came over tonight so we could talk about something? I mean, Mom and Prim are home, so we can't-."

"They won't hear anything if you can stay quiet," Peeta said, "and besides, that never stopped us before, did it?" 

Katniss laughed despite the truth of what he was saying. 

They had fooled around more times than he could count in the middle of the night while her family was asleep. Scruffy had made several appearances to her mom again during that time, although it had been a little harder for her to explain to her mom why Katniss was in various states of undress.

"But you wanted to talk," she insisted.

Peeta leaned in and kissed her more firmly then, applying soft pressure until he felt her give. "But I've changed my mind," he said, his hand sliding into her loose hair and pulling her closer.

Yes, admittedly, he'd been the one to send his girlfriend a text this morning saying he needed to talk to her. It had frankly been a moment of insanity. If Peeta hadn't been so impulsive then, he could have just brought the subject up casually- preferably after they'd had a chance to get naked together.

Also, there was a slight chance he was stalling. 

He was nervous about telling her his big news. 

"And besides, when do we ever just talk?" Peeta continued. He bent his head and tugged the corner of Katniss's sweatshirt down her shoulder and trailed his lips across her collar bone. 

(He knew it was a ridiculous thing to say. Of course, they just talked sometimes; he wasn't some sex-fiend werewolf looking to nail his girlfriend at all hours of the day. Well, not the majority of the time, at least. Besides, Katniss had admitted that she liked that side of him; she'd told him as much. It was okay.)

Peeta loved talking to her. He loved taking her on dates or going on hikes together. He loved hanging out in her den- as opposed to the type of shelter inside a cave that one would naturally associate with his kind. Her couch was much more comfortable; he couldn't help it, werewolf side be damned- watching movies and eating popcorn. 

Simply put, he loved Katniss. He loved _everything_ they did together. 

But it'd been so damn long since he'd seen her naked. 

In-person, at least.

"Yeah… you know we just talk all the time now," Katniss reminded him, her voice growing breathless. She was going to drive him crazy. 

"But that's what all that time I'm not with you is for," he persisted. His hand trailed up Katniss's stomach and past her navel while his lips moved from her shoulder to her jaw. He mouthed across the hollow there, breathing her in. 

Peeta felt the pressure in his groin increase. Even in human form, her smell drove him crazy- and fuck, he couldn't wait to pull her clothes off and do the same thing between her legs. 

In anticipation of what (he hoped) was to come soon, he dragged his tongue across her skin. "Aren't you all talked out yet?" he said, shifting on the bed to get closer to her. Should he pin her down now? Sometimes she liked that.

"I don't know- I mean, we've had plenty of phone sex over the last few weeks," Katniss continued, stubbornly. It was apparent she wasn't going to drop the subject anytime soon. "Are you tired of that too?" she asked, sounding as though she was trying to keep her laughter at bay.

Peeta pulled away, and even in the darkness of her room, he could see the humor in her eyes. She was playing dirty now, bringing up those late-night phone calls. She knew how he felt about those times, but he guessed that was what made this little dance they were doing fun. 

"No, I'm not saying that-" he began. 

Katniss snickered. "I didn't think so."

Peeta cut her laughter with another soft, wet kiss, open-mouthed; he slipped his tongue in for just a second before retreating when she responded to him- he just had to know that a lack of desire wasn't the issue here- not that he thought it was. "You know that talking isn't what I want to do with you when we're on your bed, not after a month of not seeing you. Katniss- it's been a _month_ ," he said the number like it'd been thirty years instead of thirty days since he'd been inside of her. 

"You're ridiculous," she retorted.

Peeta laughed. He was reasonably sure, based on her reaction to his kiss, that she was just holding back out of stubbornness. 

If the opportunity presented itself to slide his hands in her panties right now, he would find her just as ready for him as he was for her. "Not that I don't enjoy the phone sex, you know I do, it's just that I like your hands on me better than my own," he said, his hand creeping up her thigh, more than ready to test his theory.

"I like my hands on you too," she said, pushing his hand back down her leg, "and I plan to have them there soon. But you said that you wanted to talk, and you're the one who made it sound like it was something important," Katniss reminded him.

Dammit. 

"Can't we do both?" Peeta asked softly. He nudged her loose hair behind her shoulder and pressed his lips to the side of her neck, pulling the collar of her shirt farther open. He lingered there long enough to dart his tongue out and lick her salty skin. 

He was playing dirty this time, those neck kisses were her sweet spot, but he really couldn't help himself. Peeta had missed her. He wasn't just saying that, and it wasn't just about the sex. He'd missed seeing her and holding her. 

But right at this moment, he wanted her so badly that he wished it were possible to go back in time so that he could kick his own ass for sending her that text. 

Stupid.

"Peeta," Katniss said, pushing him away just enough so that she could look at him, the best she could in the darkness of her bedroom anyway. Her expression was serious.

He sighed.

She shifted further back on her bed and straightened her back against the headboard—this was the moment when her stubborn, muley side came out for good. There was nothing Peeta could do about it either- no more lovin' unless he fessed up first.

As a last-ditch effort, Peeta pulled what Katniss referred to as his "pouting Scruffy" face, although it never seemed to work on her in human form, so he wasn't sure why he bothered because "Scruffy" got away with a lot more than "Peeta" ever did. "You're mean," he told her, "and it can wait."

"I am not- and no, it can't," Katniss said, quietly laughing at him. 

He had to smile at the sound. This teasing and bickering was just the way they were- she knew he would stop making advances at any time if she asked him to. 

And that's just was what she was doing, telling him to stop.

So he stopped.

"I'm not saying I don't want to…" she added for good measure, patting the spot beside her on the bed, indicating that she wanted him there; Katniss reached for him, tugging on his arm until he was sitting beside her. Once he settled on the bed, she took his hand and threaded her fingers through his before covering them with her other hand. 

He could just make out her eyes from this position in the dark; the color washed out of them by the low light. "It just seemed like whatever you wanted to talk about was probably important. If it's important to you, I want to know what it is. Besides- you never really said what was up- I don't even know if it's good news or bad news."

"It's not bad news," he reassured her.

She stared at him. "Well, then?"

"I think it'll be great, actually," he admitted.

"So why didn't you just tell me?" she asked, sounding exasperated with him.

"I'm nervous about dropping this on you out of the blue, I guess. I mean, at first, I didn't say anything because I wanted the news to be a surprise, and I didn't want to get your hopes up." He shook his head. "But now I'm having second thoughts. It's like I've freaked myself out about it or something stupid like that."

"Why?" Katniss asked, staring down at their joined hands. "Just tell me, please, before I drive _myself_ crazy worrying."

Peeta used his free hand to run through his hair. He tugged on the ends a little- he needed a haircut right now and tended to do this when his hair was grown out; the longer length made it easier to get his fingers through it, but he couldn't sit there and tug on it all night like a little boy. 

They'd discussed it a handful of times- when he'd expressed to her how disappointed he was with his lack of a college experience, for instance, but still, something had kept him from mentioning his plans to his girlfriend until the transfer was approved. 

Maybe he didn't want to disappoint her if it didn't work out- he wasn't exactly sure why the secrecy seemed so important. Fortunately, things had worked out- the only issue was that he couldn't get a space in one of the dorms coming in mid-year. That was fine because he'd managed to find an apartment to rent off-campus with some guys they'd gone to high school with. 

Peeta finally let out the breath he'd been holding. "I'm transferring to State with you," he said, unblinking, "after Christmas break." Before the words had left his mouth, his tiny powerhouse of a girlfriend was sitting on top of him. 

"Peeta!" she shrieked, throwing her arms around his neck and practically melting into him. "You're kidding me- why didn't you say anything?"

"You're going to wake your mom up," he said, laughing at the same time he was trying to keep his voice low. He held her tight, letting his forehead rest in the hollow of her neck in relief. 

Why had he been so worried?

"How did you-"

"They had enough drop-outs at the end of the semester, so there was room for me. The admissions department said their waitlist was shorter than usual this year."

"Where are you going to live?"

"I'm moving in with a couple of guys from high school into a shitty off-campus apartment," he said, shrugging. "And it _is_ shitty, but at least I'll have a room of my own."

"I can't believe this," Katniss said, as she leaned into him. She couldn't seem to stop laughing- very un-Katniss like noises kept leaking out of her mouth. "God, I'm so happy."

The loss of the permeating feeling of tightness he'd carried around in his chest all day was a relief. Her happiness was the reaction Peeta had been hoping to get. Why he'd waited to talk to her about this for so long, he couldn't say. The rational part of his brain had known that she would be ecstatic about him switching schools, but there'd also been that little voice telling him that maybe she wouldn't like it, perhaps she didn't miss him the way he missed her. 

Katniss squeezed him tighter. She was bouncing up and down on top of him at this point. While he wasn't going to complain, he was afraid of waking up her family. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?" she asked, her voice noticeably quieter but still louder than he would've liked as she pulled back to look at him. 

"Mostly, I wanted to surprise you. A small part of me was nervous," Peeta admitted, running his hands through her long hair and pushing the loose strands behind her ears. "So you're happy?" he finally asked, looking up at her. It was hard to see her eyes at this angle, but it didn't feel necessary.

"Of course I'm happy- I've missed you. I love you, you idiot. Why wouldn't I want to see you every day?"

"Well, I don't know if we'll be able to manage every day," Peeta teased, the happiness stealing through him like a sunrise in winter. "I mean, there are classes we'll still have to go to. Eating. I may need to go shopping once in a while."

"Peeta- shut up," she said, groaning.

Although he couldn't see her, he was pretty sure she was rolling her eyes at him. Regardless, he cupped her cheeks and pulled her face down to his- where she was too far away from his lips. He kissed her, and there were heavy breaths shared between them.

"Almost every day then," Katniss amended, her lips curling into a wide smile against his. The reality of the situation was just hitting her. 

Peeta nodded. "Most of the time, yes," he said smoothly, his eyes slipping closed as the relief that she'd been happy about his news. Those feelings merged with the full force of his feelings for her. She was simply incredible, and he loved her. He should have known better than to doubt her by now.

He kissed her in earnest then, his hands sliding around to the back of her neck, fingers spreading out so that he was cradling her head, meeting her lips again. Katniss sighed against his mouth and lowered herself fully down into his lap. Their faces were at a better angle for kissing this way, and she was able to feel just how much he wanted her, hard and eager between her legs.

She rocked against Peeta, and he groaned in pleasure, the relieving pressure against his erection more than welcome after feeling half-crazy with desire over the last half-hour or so. He raised his knees so that her body could slide further down onto his lap, and they could be as close as possible. 

His hands slid down Katniss's back and stopped at her ass, pulling her against him as she rocked on his lap. He could feel the heat between her legs radiating through the thin material of her shorts. He honestly didn't think it could be possible for him to feel any more aroused than he did right now. His cock was aching, so sensitive it was driving him to distraction. It felt like every ounce of blood in his body was redirected there and was now pumping and swelling his flesh to the point that he was light-headed. Fuck, they needed to get their clothes off.

Katniss rubbed herself against him, and it stole the breath from his lungs. 

He loved her, and he loved it when she took charge of what she wanted with him this way. She kissed him passionately, almost sloppy in her haste, all lips and tongue and teeth ready for reconnecting. 

"I can't believe you're going to be at school with me," she said as her hands dropped to the bottom of his shirt to grasp it and pull it up over his head. "I've missed you so much," she added, her sweatshirt quickly following his shirt until their bare chests were touching. Katniss sighed at the contact and leaned into him. "You have no idea," she mumbled against his lips.

"I think I do," he told her before he lost all ability to speak.

Katniss arched into his touch when he cupped one of her breasts, pressing forward eagerly. Peeta released her mouth to move slowly down her neck, laying soft, wet kisses everywhere he went- across her clavicle, the top of her sternum and lower until his lips were between her breasts and sucking on the soft skin there. 

In anticipation, she raised herself on her knees to give him further access to her body. She had such pretty breasts- small but plump in his hands, and she loved to have them touched as much as he liked to touch her. Peeta slowly made his way across her chest with wet kisses until he had one of her firm nipples in his mouth. 

She cried out as he began to suck, so he popped the little bud back out. "You have to be quiet," he reminded her, "your mom…"

Katniss nodded franticly; her eyes slipped closed as she wrapped her hands around his head and urged his mouth back to her breasts.

Peeta's eyes shut in bliss as he closed his mouth around her nipple. When he sucked it far into his mouth, she choked out a low moan. 

This moment was heaven, Katniss hot and aroused on top of him, out of her mind with desire. It was what he'd been thinking about all afternoon, waiting for her to get home. 

The way she sat straddled across him now, not directly sitting on him but hovering, gave him an idea. With his mouth still at her breast, he slid his hand up the bottom of her shorts. He cupped the smooth skin on her ass. What he wanted to do was bend her over and bite at the skin there.

That was probably the wolf in him speaking. 

But god, he loved her tight little ass.

Instead, he moved his fingers further in until he brushed against her lower lips with the tips of his fingers- just a light caress, but enough to be fully aware of how hot and swollen she was. 

It did his ego some good to know that he wasn't the only one who'd missed being together.

Peeta groaned as she squirmed against his fingers, rocking against them and trying to get him to move them deeper inside of her. Fuck did he want something to be there badly, whether it was his fingers, his tongue, or his cock. 

He used what he had readily available to give her a taste of what she wanted, moving his fingers a little further in, stroking through the plump wetness of her folds. She laid her forehead on his shoulder as he touched her, her arms loosely around his shoulders, her breathing heavy and uneven against his bare skin.

Peeta took his hand out of her shorts a moment later; he couldn't get to her at the right angle with the material in the way. 

Instead, he urged her off of his lap with the gentle pressure of his hands. Once she was next to him on the bed, she shimmied off her shorts while he unbuttoned his jeans. He slid the rest of his clothes off as well.

Taking in the way she was breathing heavily, he realized that they probably could go straight for home now, but it'd been a while, and Peeta didn't want to disappoint her. Besides, he wanted to draw this out as long as they could- he'd been thinking about her this way far too long to just bang it out quickly like a couple of rabbits.

Peeta lay on his side and pulled her, his chest to her back, against him. They were laying spoon style with his cock nestled against her ass. He ran his hand down the smooth line of her leg before raising it to drape over his before moving his hand back between her legs to stroke. He teased her opening and relished in the way she squirmed before gathering the wetness there and dragging his fingers back up to circle her clit. With his free hand, he caressed her breasts, rubbing her nipples. She was a small girl, and his hands were large, so it wasn't difficult to reach her that way.

He found himself grunting against her neck as she moved with him. The soft, firm swells of her ass around his cock felt amazing as he thrust with the time of her hips rocking back against him. She moaned softly and arched in pleasure, her whole body stiffening up in anticipation of the pending release, so Peeta slid two fingers inside of her, and he groaned as he felt the throbbing of her inner walls around them while she came. He pumped his fingers inside her, letting her ride them until she let out another sob of pleasure, this one stronger than the first.

Katniss lay trembling as he moved away from her. 

She rolled forward a little at the loss of his body behind her for support. Peeta settled behind her, and he kissed and nipped at the swells of her ass and thighs. He spread her legs apart and settled between them. 

With his head resting between her legs, surrounded by silky olive skin, Peeta spread her lower lips apart with his fingers, dragging his tongue through her swollen folds. He groaned at the first taste of her on his lips and tongue. Eventually, he shifted to lay on his stomach as he delved in- needing some relief from the pressure of his painfully hard cock. The sensation had moved beyond one of pleasure to almost agony, but that wasn't going to sway him because he wanted this with Katniss first. 

Peeta hummed in pleasure at the taste and smell of her, wet and hot beneath his mouth- the scent salty and earthy and _Katniss_. He licked her clit gently, aware that she was still sensitive from her earlier climax, and occasionally moved lower to probe her walls with his tongue until she relaxed beneath his touch. She was soon moaning, her hands holding fast to the headboard of the bed, supporting herself like she needed something to ground her in reality as he pleasured her. 

Peeta licked and licked and licked until he felt the flesh beneath his tongue and lips swelling even further, her skin so tight and wet it made his head spin thinking about plunging his cock into her. He knew Katniss was on the verge of coming even harder this time. He moved his fingers to swirl around the opening of her pussy, increasing her pleasure slowly, feeling her writhe and twist beneath his touch until the moment he slid two fingers into her at the same time he sucked her clit into his mouth.

Katniss's back arched. She ground her pelvis down onto his mouth as she climaxed, her muscles pulsing so powerfully beneath his face and tongue and around his fingers that he could feel the movement carry through to her inner thighs currently clenched around his head. 

When the pulsations slowed to a gentle throb, and she was breathing a little more normal again, Peeta sat up, rolling her onto her back. 

He climbed up her body and kissed her, letting her taste herself on him as he pushed his cock inside of her slowly. He closed his eyes for a second. Oh, the relief of her around his aching flesh, the ridges of her walls, and the heat of her, god, it felt amazing. When he started to thrust, It felt like she was hugging every inch of his cock in tight, swollen heat. What he wanted, what his baser instinct told him to do at the moment, was pound into her like a mad man until he spilled everything inside of her like an animal, but instead, he gritted his teeth and made himself calm down.

Peeta opened his eyes, watching her breasts bounce with each thrust and her head roll side to side in bliss, not wanting to miss a second of her reaction because none of what they were doing meant anything without _her_. He lowered himself over Katniss to feel the soft plushness of her breasts against his chest, wanting as much skin to skin contact as he could get while he continued moving in and out of her. 

Beneath him, Katniss moaned softly, her hands reaching around his back to dig into his shoulders, her legs wrapping tightly around his hips. She raised her pelvis to meet his thrusts, lifting and pressing against him, rubbing herself against his public bone and the base of his cock.

Peeta could feel the pressure building, his balls tightening, and the urge to drive into her hard and fast overtaking him so much that he'd lose his mind soon if he didn't do it soon. He pulled out of her then- even the sound of their joining, making him feel crazy- a deep, wet suction and then the release from her inner grip. 

His cock was swollen beyond belief and throbbing with the need to find release, so he quickly sat back on his knees. He had little patience left. 

Peeta hooked one hand under Katniss's knee and urged her to roll onto her stomach, grabbing a pillow and shoving it under her pelvis so that he could lift her ass in the air and spread her legs wide open behind her. He groaned- the angle gave him the perfect view of her swollen pussy. It was like she was just waiting for him to grab her hips and drive his cock inside her again. 

She wiggled her ass in invitation.

" _Katniss_ ," he groaned as he bent over her, covering her with his body. 

He kissed the back of her neck before running his lips across her shoulder blades. Finally, he fitted his hips behind her and drove his cock inside her. He sighed deeply, lost in a haze of feeling, but still aware when her head lolled to the side before dropping to the mattress in blissed-out satisfaction.

Using one hand to support himself on the mattress he lay across her, his legs spread behind hers and his knees beneath her, as he seated himself as far inside her as he could get.

Peeta slid his other hand beneath her hips and settled it across her mound, applying external pressure and rubbing gently at the hood of her clit as he began to thrust into her tight, hot grip. 

He knew she was exhausted, knew she'd had hard, intense orgasms already, but he wanted to try to get her to come with him one last time. There was nothing better than feeling her clench him deep inside of her as he pulsed and throbbed against her walls- it was like having her body strangle him in bliss. He knew, based on her reaction the handful of times it'd happened, that the throb of his cock, while she came around him, made her climax last longer and gave her the same earth-shattering pleasure it did him, so it wasn't purely a selfish thought.

"Umm," Katniss mumbled beneath him, incoherent, her head lolling from side to side as he gave her long, deep strokes of his cock. 

Peeta grit his teeth as he felt his balls tighten, and his brain began to crackle around the edges. With the hand beneath her, he continued rubbing a full circle over her mound, finally letting his fingertips slip inside to caress her more directly. They were a soaking mess, her arousal and his saliva between her legs making a slick, wet sound as he drove into her.

He loved it when Katniss was aggressive- when she didn't hesitate to take what she wanted from him. However, he would never tell her, but he loved it just as much when she lay beneath him and let have control this way, when it felt primal and animalistic, knowing he'd already driven her over the edge so far she could barely move. Still, she wanted more, always more from him.

"I don't think I can," she whispered.

"Don't think about it," he gritted out, thrusting harder. "Just let go."

He wanted to live the rest of his life like this, wanted to continue driving his body through the edge of pain and pleasure forever. This suspended feeling of just-out-of-reach bliss was like having every nerve rubbed raw but never wanting it to end.

Katniss moaned beneath him, her body slack and pliant, and when Peeta swiped his fingertips deeper to reach her clit, she cried out. 

A second later, it hit him- at the same time, he felt her walls clench around him. His cock gave a hard twitch, swelled even further, and then his orgasm came- spurting out of him and into her. He drove into her hard, his fingers digging in while he continued slamming into her from behind. He ground his hips against her ass to push his cock as far inside her pussy as he could go. Her climax pulled him in deep, his body's intense throbbing and the pulsating of her walls around him took him to heaven and dropped him there to float in a cloud of endorphins.

He never wanted it to end. 

But it always did, and that was okay too.

  
  


* * *

  
  


"Oh my god, what was _that_?" Katniss asked, giggling as she rolled onto her back after Peeta pulled out and flopped next to her on the mattress. 

He chuckled, covering his eyes with the back of his forearm as he attempted to catch his breath. His energy was gone, and Katniss didn't seem to be doing any better, sprawled out on the bed next to him. "That was amazing, was what that was," he answered, his chest still heaving as he lowered his arm to look at her.

Katniss caught his eye and smiled at him. "It was. And I don't know if I can get up," she admitted, lifting her head for just a minute before letting it drop to her pillow again.

Peeta rolled onto his side to look at her, propping his head up with the palm of his hand. 

"Do you think it's like that for other people?" he asked eventually, trailing a finger across her cheek. 

He loved how soft her skin was. 

"Sex. Do you think sex is like that for other people, or do you think it's better because of what I am?"

Katniss looked up at him, her face curious. "What do you mean?"

He leaned over and kissed her. "Do you think it's… that intense for other people."

Her hand went to the side of his face, and she drew him down to her lips for a kiss. She didn't give him an immediate answer.

"It's just that- I don't even feel like myself when we're that way together, you know?" Peeta further explained, leaning his forehead against hers. "When we're together, I feel more like an animal than a man," he admitted.

"I'm just your average person," she said, "so I don't know. Maybe?"

Peeta ran his finger across her face and booped her nose with the tip of it in retribution. "There's nothing average about you," he said.

Katniss stared up at him for a moment. She surprised him when she burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked, not sure what was happening but smiling at her nonetheless. This part was just as good as sex; he decided at that moment. Peeta loved lying close to her and talking about anything and everything after they'd been together that way. He loved feeling so close to her.

"It's just that. Okay. One of my roommates- you remember Johanna, right?"

Peeta pictured the petite brunette with spiky hair and a sly smile. Johanna made him nervous, admittedly. He had to admit that she seemed like the kind of girl who knew how to have fun if you weren't afraid of taking the risk of premature death or spending the night in jail, that was. 

"What about her?" he asked with a mild shudder.

Katniss bit her lip to keep from laughing. "I've never heard anything that comes close to the sex noises she makes when she brings a guy back to her room. I mean, god, it's torture."

Peeta groaned. "Way to go, you. You just ruined my theory," he teased, rolling onto his back again. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the way Katniss shrugged. "Here I thought we had something special."

"We do," she said. "It's us. We're what's special. I think it's just that we're great together, don't you think?"

Well, Peeta couldn't argue with that.

"We'd better get dressed," Katniss continued, sitting up on the bed. "In case someone hears us talking. But just think," she added as she picked his shirt up off the floor and tossed it his way, "come winter semester we'll have all the time in the world."

"We will, won't we?' Peeta said, sitting up himself. He'd forgotten about that for a moment- what a thing to look forward to.

If he could help it, he was never going to spend the night without her again.

"Are you heading home?" Katniss asked, meaning that he could just stay with her in wolf form if he wanted to.

Peeta thought about it for a moment. "Nope- not if you can set the alarm for me."

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> So... here we are on the other side (Lol). Let me know what you thought. Thanks for reading!


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